Behind the bars - an animated short film

Director's Statement

I wanted the film to illustrate the poet’s autobiography and his struggle with racial discrimination. The further I went into my research I was appalled to realize how little has changed in the span of a century. In the film, I made a point to tie Jones’ autobiography to current events, because his plea for justice and equality has yet to be answered and is at the forefront of the American conversation right now.

To visually represent Jones’ struggle, I used a combination of 2D computer, hand drawn and under the camera animation techniques. I incorporate textures, fabric, and earth, objects that would have been accessible to the poet during his lifetime. I combined those tangible elements with frame-by-frame hand drawn line to create dynamic scenes, freely morphing from one image to the next. The freedom of the line drawing expresses Jones’ abundant imagination, and intense inspiration to write even during his most difficult moments.